"The Gudeman of Ballangeich": rambles in the afterlife of James V

Folklore, August, 2004 by David Stevenson

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Where does the "Gudeman of Ballangeich" fit into all this? The Gudeman stories are often related to the pre-1528 period, when he was under restraint, but if they have any basis in reality they must mainly concern later years. Pitscottie's story of it being thought that James, at the time of his escape, might have slipped out to meet a gentlewoman could be true, but he was only just sixteen. Sir David Lindsay wrote of the child king being urged into sexual exploits by corrupt courtiers, and it came to be believed that an obsessive and precocious interest in sex was encouraged in him in an attempt to divert him from seeking to escape from restraint and gain power (Bingham 1971, 69-70). However, a similar tale was told of his father, James IV. According to a Spanish ambassador, when he was a minor "he was instigated by those who held the government to do some dishonourable things. They favoured his love intrigues with their relatives, in order to keep him in their subjection" (Macdougall 1989, 98). Is this to be seen as a folklore motif (child ruler diverted from taking power by encouraging obsession with sex), or a real political tactic adopted by unscrupulous regents?

In the years before 1525, James spent much of his time at Stirling Castle, the property of his mother. He knew Ballangeich, but as a place for childhood play rather than sexual trysts. Tradition says that he played on the Mote Hill, which stood on the opposite side of Ballangeich from the castle. The hill became known locally, into the twentieth century, as Hurly-Haaky. This refers to the game of hurly-hakcat, sliding down a hill on a tray or sledge of some sort, which Sir David Lindsay recalled the young king playing (Groome 1901, 1512). Perhaps James's fantasy of himself as the Gudeman of Ballangeich emerged through such games, when he could escape from the mockery of his supposed kingship into a more satisfying role in play with other kids. But from 1525 to 1528 he was in Angus's hands, and only after his escape and return to Stirling can Ballangeich be plausibly seen as the scene of his sexual adventures, or at least as the place symbolising his pantomime-style transformation from king to lecherous goodman and back again. As to the reality of his promiscuity there is no lack of evidence. The most explicitly worded came from his friend Sir David Lindsay. He rebuked the king for his behaviour in verse. The king responded in the same form, jeering at Lindsay for his lack of activity in Venus's work. The poet (more than twenty years older than James) felt it necessary to protest that he had had plenty of affairs in earlier years--and then, having boasted his past manhood, proceeded also to seek credit for his present morality. He had repented:

   That euer I did Mouth thankles so persew

The genital "mouth thankless" was a term that much appealed to early Scottish poets as symbolising the pursuit of women (Williams 1994, vol. 1, 919). The king's own conduct, continued the courtier-poet, was deplorable. He pulled no punches:

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"The Gudeman of Ballangeich": rambles in the afterlife of James V

Folklore, August, 2004 by David Stevenson

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